


You Do You Better Than He Does

by CaptnSlash



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Hale Saves The Day, M/M, Mates, My version of a generic skin-walker, The rating is accurate, sexual situations in inappropriate places
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptnSlash/pseuds/CaptnSlash
Summary: Stiles is replaced by a skin-walker and Derek is the only one to notice.





	You Do You Better Than He Does

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short little fic that came to mind one evening when I was trying to go to sleep. Any spelling/grammar mistakes are my own as this fic was not proofread by anyone other than myself. 
> 
> This story features a skin-walker. He's my own generic creation where his abilities come from magic rather than being an inherent shifter like the werewolves are, so that's why he doesn't smell like a _were_ to anyone. I hope you like it.

He looks and sounds the same, but he feels completely wrong. Derek is familiar with the curves of Stiles’ body, the way the human’s scent spikes whenever they’re in the same room together , and all the different smiles he uses to show just how happy and content he is are forever etched into Derek’s memory. Stiles is his mate, so Derek can tell that something is off with the person that’s sitting among them and trying to belong. 

His thoughts start going through all the different types of creatures that could be responsible. He stands and disappears into the bedroom and the scent of Stiles is still present on the bed, in the sheets and on the pillows. Derek inhales the scent of his mate, of safety, and the differences are glaringly obvious. The phony in the other room is a cheap imitation at best.

Derek grabs the set of handcuffs from the top drawer of the dresser and then he returns to protect his pack. 

The imposter is telling a poorly executed joke as if language and humor are things that it isn’t quite familiar with. Derek approaches in a way that is meant to avoid drawing attention and he throws it into the nearest wall with a growl and a flash of his alpha eyes once he’s close enough to do so. 

“Dude? What gives?” The imposter asks. It’s using Stiles’ voice, but the timbre is slightly off. 

Derek pushes Scott away in an effort to keep him back while he puts on the handcuffs. He’s able to restrain both hands and it doesn’t go unnoticed that the creature is so dazed from being slammed into the wall that it isn’t resisting or fighting back. 

“Derek, what are you doing?” Allison asks. He can hear the threat laced in with her words, but he can’t take the time to care. Someone else is wearing Stiles’ face and he wants his mate back in his arms where he knows that he is safe and content. He kneels in front of the imposter and stares. 

“Where is he?”

“Who?” Scott questions.

Derek keeps his attention on the creature. “Where is Stiles? _Our_ Stiles.”

The imposter plays dumb and seems to enjoy the way Scott grabs Derek by the back of the neck and pulls him up to his feet. Derek somehow knows that they don’t have time to worry about Scott’s feelings, not when Stiles could be hurt or injured somewhere and calling out his name like a prayer. He can’t bring himself to think of the possibility that Stiles could already be dead. 

“Use your nose, Scott. He smells wrong!” He pushes Scott’s hands away and then wraps a hand around the imposter’s throat. He begins to squeeze and claws start digging into flesh now that the reins on his anger have been loosened. “Where is he? Tell me now or I will kill you.”

The imposter fights against him for a moment until it’s clear that Scott isn’t going to rush to help him. Derek looks over and he can see that the werewolves have noticed something is odd with the version of Stiles in front of them, but he’s well aware that it won’t be as noticeable to them as it is to him. Lydia is off the couch and walking over to get a closer look when the imposter’s eyes lose their honey amber color and are replaced by dull gray irises. 

“Oh, my god,” he hears Erica say from somewhere behind him. “I thought our alpha was actually poisoned again.”

“It’s a skin-walker,” Derek realizes, and he says so. His mother always liked telling him and his sisters stories about all of the different kinds of creatures that she’d come across throughout her lifetime. He recollects the hows and whys of why skin-walkers take the shapes of others and how it always comes down to survival and self-preservation. 

Derek continues to squeeze the imposter’s throat now that the others have confirmation. The enemy groans and the facade washes away to reveal a graying man in his fifties. He looks weak and emaciated, but Derek is well aware of the fact that its current presentation could be another trick. “Last chance. Where is Stiles?”

“He’s in my den in the woods. In a cave not far from here.”

Derek pulls his hand away and he focuses on regaining his calm. “Show us. If you’ve hurt him…”

The imposter rolls his eyes. “He is unharmed.”

They only have to walk for fifteen minutes before they’re lead through an area cloaked by magic. Derek has no idea how long those protections have been there since he’s never seen the cave or heard any of his family members talk about it. They all pour into the cave and Stiles looks up and smiles at him. 

Derek feels his fear giving way to immense joy at the sight of him. He pushes past Scott and the others and he breaks the shackles that are restraining Stiles’ wrists. Then he pushes Stiles up against the closet wall and kisses him. He tastes the human with his tongue and all but claims him, both of them not caring that their secret relationship is finally exposed. 

Derek backs away to give both of them a chance to get some oxygen only because he can hear someone clearing their throat. His focus is solely on Stiles so he wouldn’t be able to identify who it was even if his life depended on it. “Damn. More of that, Sourwolf,” Stiles pleads, and his pupils are blown. 

“Later,” Derek promises him. He turns back to the skin-walker and the creature backs away once it realizes what it has done. “Why did you abduct him and take his place?”

“I didn’t know he was your mate, alpha,” the skin-walker reveals. “He—he must contain some magic ability. He found his way to my cave and I was forced to—.”

Stiles laughs. “That’s a total lie. I was walking in the preserve collecting wood samples for Deaton and this guy shows up out of nowhere and tries to make me think he’s you. It was pretty obvious that he’s a cheap imitation. As if I wouldn’t know my own boyfriend.”

Derek pulls Stiles close and he wraps his arms around him. “I was worried.”

“I’m okay, big guy. Just don’t fall for whatever story he’s spinning. I think he’s been watching us for awhile. He’s after something.”

The skin-walker groans and throws himself down on a thin mattress on the floor. His restrained arms are still secured by the handcuffs and he’s not close enough to anything to reach for something to help him escape. “I’m a trickster by nature. I feed on the remnants of energy. I would have fed so very well on a pack of werewolves.”

“And you would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for our fine-as-hell alpha,” Stiles points out. He licks a stripe up Derek’s neck and Scott makes a gagging noise. 

“Gross. Someone get me out of here.”

“Yes, please,” Isaac is quick to respond, but they all know that he’s only saying it because he’s Scott’s friend and he feels the need to back him up. 

“I think it’s hot,” Erica teases.

“Seconded,” Lydia says. She looks at the skin-walker and then turns her attention to Derek. “We should deliver him to Deaton and let the emissaries decide the best way to deal with him. He’s a threat to us all if we release him and I don’t think his crimes are deserving of death, though I wouldn’t lose any sleep if it went that way.”

“We’ll take him,” Boyd offers. “You can take Stiles back to the loft and verify that he’s okay.” 

It’s the closest thing to a joke that Derek has ever heard from Boyd. Stiles is grinning and already leading him out of the cave, so Derek agrees to go with the flow. He pauses long enough to flash his eyes and fangs at the skin-walker. “If you harm a member of my pack, I will kill you in the most unpleasant way possible.”

“Salt,” Stiles suggests helpfully. “It keeps them from changing their form and it becomes incredibly painful after a few hours. I’d love to see if he shrivels up like a slug.”

“You’re ferocious,” Derek tells his mate. 

Stiles doesn’t hesitate. “Wait until we get home and I’ve got you in bed. I’m going to devour you, Hale.”

Derek looks down at the mattress on the floor. Erica and Allison seem to understand because they start herding everyone out rapidly after that. Derek places Stiles down on the mattress and he looks at his mate fondly while he waits for the others to get out of hearing range. He gives them ten seconds and suggests they run.

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted Stiles to respond with something like _"I run with wolves. What do you expect?"_ to Derek's comment about him being ferocious. I just felt like promise of impending sexual activity made more of an impact. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos or comments if you enjoyed it.


End file.
